Theresa Gillespie Isom

Theresa Gillespie Isom is an American politician and former healthcare administrator. A Democrat, she was elected to the Mississippi State Senate, representing the 2nd District, which includes parts of DeSoto and Tunica counties. Isom won a special election on November 4, 2025, becoming the first African American and first female senator to represent DeSoto County. Her victory helped break a Republican supermajority in the state senate.

Early life A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Isom moved to Mississippi in 2005. She served as the director of nursing at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology. The election was held after a federal court ordered Mississippi to create new, majority-Black legislative districts, ruling that the state's previous maps had diluted Black voting strength. She is a Baptist, and she has one child.